Amber, a pupil at Queen Elizabeth’s Academy, had the argument with her parents after she told to clean out her cool box in which she had kept sandwiches from the holiday to the south coast.

That was the last conversation they had with her.

Kelly said she heard the front door slam and when she went to check, there was no sign of Amber.

She took no money and does not have a mobile phone. Her parents said that she was not allowed to use social media sites, so it was unlikely that she may have spoken to someone over the internet about running away.

Her parents do not think she had a boyfriend, and police had been busy quizzing her friends and schoolmates.

Her biological father also lives in Scotland, but police said they had already followed up a line of inquiry that she may have headed north across the border.

Kelly and Danny said she was not in contact with him.

They described her as being a ‘girly girl’, and outgoing youngster who loves singing, dancing and reading.

The family had only moved to the Mansfield area from Tibshelf last year.

Police revealed on Sunday that they had begun searching for Amber, and by Monday hundreds of people from the Ladybrook area where she lived had formed their own search parties.

Groups of men, women and children have knocked on residents’ doors and delivered hundreds of posters and leaflets.

In a statement issued tonight, police thanked the people of Mansfield for their help.

Danny said that the family were grateful for the help and to the community spirit that has emerged.

He added: “We have not lived here that long, it’s overwhelming the amount of people who are out there. We just want to thank them.

“I’m her step father but she will always be my little girl.”

Meanwhile, Supt Matt McFarlane, who is heading the inquiry, outlined the police’s growing concerns when he spoke before the body was discovered.

He said: “We have had no confirmed sightings of her, we’ve had no sightings since 5.30pm on Saturday, which is pretty unusual for a 13-year-old.

“You would not expect a 13-year-old to be missing for this length of time, this is vulnerable young girl.

“We are seriously concerned about her whereabouts.

“She has never done anything like this before, it is totally out of character.

Trending

6 things almost everyone in Chesterfield will have done by the age of 40